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BOX SCORE
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Temple coach John Chaney watched his
Owls (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 8 AP) win their 12th straight game Thursday, but he was not too happy about it.
|  | | Kevin Lyde applies some of Temple's trademark defense to J.R. Bremer. |
Chaney was upset with the way his team played defense. He
thought three turnovers on offense were three too many. Mostly,
Chaney was furious with Pepe Sanchez.
The senior point guard had a career-high 13 assists for the Owls
(21-4, 12-1 Atlantic 10) in a 75-58 victory over St. Bonaventure.
But Sanchez received a technical foul for taunting Eric Siegrist
after his 13th assist on a no-look, behind-the-back pass from the
top of the key to Lynn Greer, who buried a 3-pointer from the
corner to give Temple its biggest lead, 64-43 with 6:41 to play.
Chaney removed Sanchez from the game after the play. Sanchez, seemingly upset, sat next to Chaney for a few minutes and then went to the end of the bench.
"No player has the right to pick up a technical foul," the
irate Chaney said. "He's done it every year. For some reason, a
screw goes off in his head. I'm not going to try to figure it out
because I'm not a psychiatrist. I'm going to take him out every
time and punish him."
Sanchez and the rest of the Owls did not speak to reporters
after the game because Chaney closed the locker room.
"I don't think a team I've been emotionally charged with should have to explain my attack on them," Chaney said.
Temple, which beat then-No. 1 Cincinnati 77-69 last Sunday, trailed only once in the game and led by 15 at halftime. Quincy Wadley scored 17 points and Lynn Greer added 14 to lead the Owls.
St. Bonaventure (16-8, 8-5) tried to confuse Temple by
alternating between zone and man-to-man defenses, but the Owls
managed to hit 17-of-32 shots (53 percent) in the first half,
including 5-of-12 3-pointers.
"They came out shooting the basketball, same as in
Cincinnati," St. Bonaventure coach Jim Baron said. "They started
from the perimeter early then they went inside. They have great,
great balance."
It was the 20th straight home victory for Temple. But Chaney
wouldn't say anything more than call it "fair."
"I wasn't too pleased with our perimeter defense," Chaney said.
The Bonnies nailed four consecutive 3-pointers in the second
half to close within 14 points after trailing by 21.
Chaney did have a few kind words about Sanchez's play despite
blasting his conduct.
"When a kid has 13 assists, that's the equivalent of 26
points," Chaney said. "We can't worry about him scoring baskets.
We worry about him distributing the ball. A point guard at Temple
is different than other places where point guards are supposed to
score points."
Sanchez, who is nursing a sore ankle, scored seven points.
Mark Karcher, coming off a 28-point performance against the
Bearcats, scored 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting. Lamont Barnes led
the Owls with seven rebounds as Temple won the battle on the boards
40-33.
Patricio Prato and David Messiah-Capers each scored 12 points
for the Bonnies, who shot 20-for-54 (37 percent). Temple finished
28-for-62 (45 percent), including 8-for-24 from 3-point-range.
The Owls, who improved to 36-5 against St. Bonaventure, fell out
of the top 25 after losing to the Bonnies 57-56 on Jan. 15.
"They had a lot more focus and energy, and Pepe is healthy,"
Baron said. "We tried to sag off Pepe. It helped sometimes and not
other times. They're a top 10 basketball team and playing with a
lot of confidence."
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
St Bonaventure Clubhouse
Temple Clubhouse
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